As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Samara Lubelski .
It reckons you’ve happened upon the name Samara Lubelski in frequent music binges. She has an armful of solo output on Ecstatic Peace, Social Registry and De Stijl. She’s a regular contributor to Thurston Moore’s music adventures, including the recently formed Chelsea Light Moving.
Lubelski’s own work, including her newest Wavelength, strikes an elegant balance between psychedelic sunshine and the seedy underbelly of the genre. The melodies pop of the record, crackling with the warmth of classic 60s optimism. But beneath is a solitary soul, isolated from any modern context. It’s the juxtaposition of California during the Summer of Love as race riots, runaways and Charles Manson soil the vibe.
Yet there’s beauty in self-destruction. It’s the basis of Hollywood comebacks and omnipotent nostalgia. Lubelski relishes the good and bad, blending it into her sunny braids and rainbow smiles. Those rotten teeth, black from decay, just as gorgeous as the pristine colors that wrap around our free love goddess. Lubelski is best when restrained and though it rarely happens throughout Wavelength, its smile in the face of melancholy is the pick-me-up needed in uncertain times. The turmoil of a wayward world is coming to a head but Wavelength is the interlocked arms and forget-me-nots in our hair that gives us the strength to carry on and make a change.
Justin Spicer is a freelance journalist whose work can be viewed at his website. You can also find him on Twitter.
One Comment
Nice post. I love Samara Lubelski’s work so much. I think she is vastly underrated.